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ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 16th, 2003, 12:07 PM
None
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!

It's all well and good, and as you say, what is happening in your working
environment is not something that I am concerned with. What I am concerned
with is the fact that your airline has taken just over $8,000.00 from me for
6 round trip tickets for holiday travel, and that there is a distinct
possibility that our flights may get cancelled. 8 grand is a lot of money
to me, it's nearly a years worth of mortgage payments on my home, and I
forked it over to your airline in one shot for a ride. When I call your
airline with concerns about news items regarding possible sick outs and
cancellations, I was delivered nothing short of snotty, bitch attitude that
all but bluntly said, we've got your revenue and we are NOT giving it back
for any reason. If your flight gets cancelled, we'll book you on the next
available flight, if that one gets cancelled, we'll book you again but there
are no refunds, the limit of our liability is to continue to book you on
flights until we get you there and back, and whatever hassle you have to go
through to make that happen is not something we care about.

That isn't a good way to treat customers when your airline faces tough
economic times. Believe me, since that phone incident, I've told everyone I
know planning travel NOT to use AA. It wasn't because of how a flight
attendant treated me, it was because of how the company treated me on the
phone.

It wasn't that long ago that your company executives were in the news for
stashing away millions and millions of dollars while they cried to the
government how broke they were, and hid that fact from employees so they
could get wage concessions from you. The taxpayers handed the airlines a 15
billion dollar bail out package and american airlines was busy stashing
millions away to protect its bigshots in case they decided to bankrupt the
airline. I remember this so my 8 grand is a lot more important than you
might think. All I can see is a fat cat executive pocketing my 8 grand and
telling me that I have to put up with whatever bull**** they dish out to me
at the airport in exchange for that. No thank you!

Your airline certainly doesn't care about it's customers and, from the basis
of your post and the original post here, they also don't care about you as
an employee. It sounds as if you are severely over worked, spread entirely
too thin, and are having to fight 24/7 just to get paid decently for what
you do and your employer doesn't want to pay you for it. When your employer
publicly treats you like GARBAGE, just how do you expect the traveling
public to treat you as well? When your employer scammed wage cuts out of
you while simultaneously stashing millions for themselves, that sent a very
clear signal to the public that american airlines employees are available to
be treated like sub-human trash. To appease all of you, your CEO went
running with all his millions and a new guy stepped in and you all shut up
like you had won something. Your problems at work are your own and in this
instance, you are the purveyors of your own work environment grief.

Atonement begins at home. Your airline would do well to clean up it's
public image and treat it's customers with respect. Thats how you turn a
profit, and thats how you are able to pay your employees what they are
worth.



"lonestarstag" wrote in message
.. .
Hello people,

I don't really know exactly where to begin, and I will try to not be
long-winded...

First off all, let me explain why this flight attendant posted this

message.
If someone came in and turned your entire "work-world" upside down in the
course of 2 or 3 months, and I mean LITERALLY upside-down, you would want

to
vent and share your experience, too. You would hold a lot of animosity
towards your company, and your union (in our case), and you would probably
resent having 30 to 40% of your income taken away after you had put so

much
into your company and your product. Doing it to help keep your company
financially afloat, when you don't EXACTLY know for sure how your company
stands financially doesn't make it any easier to swallow either. As an
American flight attendant, I can understand this person's frustration on
something that we seemingly have no control over. Our entire industry is

in
a state of chaos and only the clear and long-term thinkers will survive.

Secondly, let me make this VERY clear, we are NOT planning an "organized"
sick-out for the holidays. What is actually going to happen is this.

Since
we have layed off over 7,000 flight attendants, those of us that are left
have moved back DOWN the seniority ladder. We are unionized, so ourentre
lives are based on our date-of-hire, just like at so many other companies.
Many of us that are used to holding the holidays off (under normal monthly
bidding circumstances) will not be able to hold the holidays this year or
any year in the forseeable future. These people will be VERY tempted to
call in sick for the holidays, and I can understand that, although if I
can't hold the holidays off this year, well, so be it, I'll just fly
whatever I get. The one thing that most passengers don't understand is

that
most airlines have a safety net as far as staffing goes. We have a system
called "reserve" that keeps several hundred flight attendants on call at

any
given time to fill in for the ones that call in sick, or misconnect, or

fall
ill during a trip. This helps to keep everything running more smoothly.
During holiday months, bad weather months, etc... they can run short on
reserve crewmembers, which means that they start reassigning regular
crewmembers that are "in the air" to cover the shorted flights. This

means
that although you may have a set schedule and not be a "reserve" flight
attendant, your trip may actually be extended for 1 or 2 more days, to

which
you have no choice but do. That makes it very difficult to plan anything

at
home with your friends or family on the days off that you are SUPPOSED to
have. But that's another story...

Thirdly, the section that started with "Lemme point out why nobody should
give a ****" was interesting and colorful. Personally, I don't think that
anyone would give a **** about our problems, except for us, American, and
the FAA. To be honest, I hate to say it, but like I said I AM being

honest,
if you work at Burger King and they make you work a triple shift, well I
just don't really care as long as I get my order. That is just the human
response. I understand that when you buy a ticket on any airline that you
just want to get from point a to point b in one piece and relatively on
time, with all of your baggage. I am suprised however that you went to

such
great lengths to ridicule and condescend to the flight attendant that
originally posted his/her message.

I, as an educated adult would never walk into my dentist's office and

expect
to understand what his work schedule and working conditions were. I would
never walk into McDonald's and assume that I knew what each one of the
employee's work duties entailed or what their work rules were like. Why
would you presume to know what a flight attendant's life is like?

I will try to cover the points that you made in your response.

part 1, #1

Only the MOST senior flight attendants (15-50 years) YES 50 YEARS, would
make that amount working 20 hours a week. Remember that we only accrue

time
in the air so it takes us several days a week to accrue 20 hours. All of
the hours that we spend before, in-between, anf after flights

accomplishing
our duties, doing paperwork, commuting, etc, are all on our own time. For
most of us it would take 4 days to accrue 20 hours, so, we are actually at
work for 72 to 80 hours to accrue that amount of time. When we are at

work,
we are not just free to run amuck whereever we happen to be, we are under
the constand rules, guidelines, and scrutiny of the comapany. We don't run
around and drink and vacation and carouse like the old stereotypes let on.
For junior flight attendants, they would have to work AT LEAST 5 to 6 days

a
week to make $40K. And that means be away from their homes, families, and
children to make that much money.

Your next question might be "Well, if it sucks that bad, why don't you

just
quit?" I can answer that by saying that our careers are more of a
"lifestyle" than a "job". Although, it has become much more of a job
lately...

part 1, #2

I think that was answered in the above response.

part 1, #3

Yes, the FAA does require a minumum amount of crew rest and you should be
very thankful that they do. In most aircraft accidents, it was a series

of
events that occurred that made it happen. It is very important that the
pilots get as much sleep as they need so as to not overlook ONE setting,

or
mistake ONE reading that can cause the cycle of events to begin. As far

as
the flight attendants go, the job of serving peanuts and coke are the
secondary responsibilites that we accomplish during every flight. We need
to be alert as well. Our duties begin way before you show up for your
flight and continue way after you have deplaned. Although we seem to be

not
paying attention to anything in particular, we size every passenger up
during boarding, we are aware of every sound and every smell on a

particular
aircraft, and although you make not think we are paying attention, we are
aware of EVERYTHING and are in communication with the pilots during every
flight. You might say that nothing ever goes on on any flights you've

ever
been on, but I assure you that if you knew of all of the mechanical,
medical, and security emergencies that occur on a daily basis, you might
reconsider flying as your choice of transportation. 99% of everything
unusual that goes on during a flight is never communicated with the
passengers. As far as the rest time goes, it is 8 hrs "block to block".
That means that the 8 hours start when your flight gets to the gate until
when you have to be on the plane for the next flight. This does not take
into consideration passengers de-planing, cleaning the aircraft,

completing
post flight paperwork, walking to your hotel shuttle pick-up point,

waiting
for your hotel van (up to 45 minutes is allowed), travel time to your

hotel,
checking into your hotel, unpacking, showering, going immediately to

sleep,
getting up and getting ready, possibly getting something to eat, taking

the
hotel van back to the airport, going through the security check point,
getting to you gate 1 hour before departure time to complete you briefing
with the agents, captain, air marshalls, etc, and boarding 30 minutes

before
departure. That really doesn't leave much time for sleep. You are lucky

to
get 4 hours, 5 max, of sleep. After being on duty for 14 or 15 hours and
having to complete 14 or 15 hours of duty for 2 or 3 days in a row with

this
amount of sleep IS difficult.

part 1, #4

Of course we sit down during flights when we have an opportunity. Why
wouldn't we? Should we just pace up and down the aisles non-stop for 2 or

3
hours? What would be the point of that? We are always available should
someone need something or should there be a problem. Where would we go to
hide out? The vast majority of passengers want to be left alone anyway.

I
understand that it doesn't look like we are doing much of anything. Why
would it look any other way to a passenger?

part 2, #1

There are actually very rarely any pretzels left over. If there are any
left we usually walk through the cabin and offer the to the passengers who
may want another bag. Considering that there is only about 5 pretzels in

a
bag, most people gladly take a second one. If you have ever seen extra

bags
of pretzels in our carts or in our galleys it is because they are

scheduled
for the next flight. We are quite often "double-catered" and we are not
allowed, for obvious reasons, to break into the stuff that is scheduled

for
the next flight. As far as "that enormous bag" goes, it actually holds 50
bags of pretzels. If we have 115 passengers, they usually give us 3 bags.
Sometimes they actually give us 2 bags and 15 individual bags of pretzels!

part 2, #2

There might be a good 20 minutes in between flights for you as a passenger
but there are many times where we have 35 or 40 minutes to connect to our
next flight but you are not considering the fact that that includes us
cleaning the aircraft from our last flight, gathering OUR belongings, and
traipsing through huge terminals to get to our next gate to prepare our

new
aircraft for boarding. This includes emergency equipment checks, security
checks, the briefings, catering checks, etc... We generally board the
passengers 30 to 40 minutes before departure. Where is the time to get
something to eat, even at McDonalds? By the way, if we putz around, or go
get something to eat and we cause boarding to be delayed and our departure
to be delayed, we must answer for it with paperwork and supervisor
questioning. You might think, well take food with you, or get something

to
eat in the morning and drag it along. Well, the problem with this is that
I'm a grown man (6',1", 185 lbs.). What exactly could I bring that would

be
non-perishable, that would make a meal for me, that I could drag around,
along with my other stuff, for 4 or 5 days? Also, our show times at the
airport are VERY early and nothing is open to get something to eat at. So
no, we are not "full of ****" as you so colorfully put it.

You said in parts of your response that you wouldn't mind fewer flight
attendants onboard your flight. I do know that you have never had an
in-flight emergency. You said you could seat yourself, that you eat and
drink before you get on, which I applaud, and that there's nothing a

flight
attendant can do during an in-flight medical or security emergency, that
would be of any use to anyone. I personally have delivered a baby, had

more
than one person stop breathing, had a passenger try to get into the

cockpit
in-flight, had a passenger have a heart attack, have had engine failure,
have had a full hydraulic failure (like United's Sioux City crash) and

many
more countless episodes, and I haven't lost a passenger yet. I assure you
that if you ever did have an emergency of any kind on any of your flights
(God forbid!) that you would want as many of us on there as possible.


I guess what I'm trying to say to you is that you don't need to consider

our
welfare when you are flying on our airline, or any airline for that

matter.
That's not your job. It is my job, however, to consider YOUR welfare, at
least while you are with me. Personally, your work life is none of my
concern. However, that doesn't mean that ANY of us should be mean-spirited
or presumptuous towards anyone else. Not everyone is in a position to quit
their job when they want to, no matter how much you hate it. I'm sure you
know what that is like. We have ALL been in that position. I truly enjoy
my career, although I am not happy with the current situation. I will do
what I can to change it and if I can't then I will have the grace to leave
it when I am able. I realize that everyone working for ANY company in ANY
industry is going through changes right now. Our economy is readjusting

and
so are we.

The main thing to remember is that we are ALL in this together. Being
presumptuous shows a lack of education and moreso a lack of character. I
have a feeling that you are very young and haven't had the chance to

really
think through your reactions to what other people are trying to express.

We
ALL have it hard and we ALL need to remember that!!! If we could just be

a
little nicer and a little more understanding of each others predicaments,
things would be so much calmer. I wish you and everyone the very best.
Remember, we are ALL fighting our own private battles!

Take it easy people!





  #2  
Old October 16th, 2003, 03:31 PM
Charles Newman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!



Where are you getting mortgage payemnts that cheap?
I thought that the minumum mortgate payment on any
house in the USA would be at last $1000 per month,
or about $12000 a year.


"None" wrote in message
nk.net...
It's all well and good, and as you say, what is happening in your working
environment is not something that I am concerned with. What I am

concerned
with is the fact that your airline has taken just over $8,000.00 from me

for
6 round trip tickets for holiday travel, and that there is a distinct
possibility that our flights may get cancelled. 8 grand is a lot of money
to me, it's nearly a years worth of mortgage payments on my home, and I
forked it over to your airline in one shot for a ride. When I call your
airline with concerns about news items regarding possible sick outs and
cancellations, I was delivered nothing short of snotty, bitch attitude

that
all but bluntly said, we've got your revenue and we are NOT giving it back
for any reason. If your flight gets cancelled, we'll book you on the next
available flight, if that one gets cancelled, we'll book you again but

there
are no refunds, the limit of our liability is to continue to book you on
flights until we get you there and back, and whatever hassle you have to

go
through to make that happen is not something we care about.

That isn't a good way to treat customers when your airline faces tough
economic times. Believe me, since that phone incident, I've told everyone

I
know planning travel NOT to use AA. It wasn't because of how a flight
attendant treated me, it was because of how the company treated me on the
phone.

It wasn't that long ago that your company executives were in the news for
stashing away millions and millions of dollars while they cried to the
government how broke they were, and hid that fact from employees so they
could get wage concessions from you. The taxpayers handed the airlines a

15
billion dollar bail out package and american airlines was busy stashing
millions away to protect its bigshots in case they decided to bankrupt the
airline. I remember this so my 8 grand is a lot more important than you
might think. All I can see is a fat cat executive pocketing my 8 grand

and
telling me that I have to put up with whatever bull**** they dish out to

me
at the airport in exchange for that. No thank you!

Your airline certainly doesn't care about it's customers and, from the

basis
of your post and the original post here, they also don't care about you as
an employee. It sounds as if you are severely over worked, spread

entirely
too thin, and are having to fight 24/7 just to get paid decently for what
you do and your employer doesn't want to pay you for it. When your

employer
publicly treats you like GARBAGE, just how do you expect the traveling
public to treat you as well? When your employer scammed wage cuts out of
you while simultaneously stashing millions for themselves, that sent a

very
clear signal to the public that american airlines employees are available

to
be treated like sub-human trash. To appease all of you, your CEO went
running with all his millions and a new guy stepped in and you all shut up
like you had won something. Your problems at work are your own and in

this
instance, you are the purveyors of your own work environment grief.

Atonement begins at home. Your airline would do well to clean up it's
public image and treat it's customers with respect. Thats how you turn a
profit, and thats how you are able to pay your employees what they are
worth.



"lonestarstag" wrote in message
.. .
Hello people,

I don't really know exactly where to begin, and I will try to not be
long-winded...

First off all, let me explain why this flight attendant posted this

message.
If someone came in and turned your entire "work-world" upside down in

the
course of 2 or 3 months, and I mean LITERALLY upside-down, you would

want
to
vent and share your experience, too. You would hold a lot of animosity
towards your company, and your union (in our case), and you would

probably
resent having 30 to 40% of your income taken away after you had put so

much
into your company and your product. Doing it to help keep your company
financially afloat, when you don't EXACTLY know for sure how your

company
stands financially doesn't make it any easier to swallow either. As an
American flight attendant, I can understand this person's frustration on
something that we seemingly have no control over. Our entire industry is

in
a state of chaos and only the clear and long-term thinkers will survive.

Secondly, let me make this VERY clear, we are NOT planning an

"organized"
sick-out for the holidays. What is actually going to happen is this.

Since
we have layed off over 7,000 flight attendants, those of us that are

left
have moved back DOWN the seniority ladder. We are unionized, so

ourentre
lives are based on our date-of-hire, just like at so many other

companies.
Many of us that are used to holding the holidays off (under normal

monthly
bidding circumstances) will not be able to hold the holidays this year

or
any year in the forseeable future. These people will be VERY tempted to
call in sick for the holidays, and I can understand that, although if I
can't hold the holidays off this year, well, so be it, I'll just fly
whatever I get. The one thing that most passengers don't understand is

that
most airlines have a safety net as far as staffing goes. We have a

system
called "reserve" that keeps several hundred flight attendants on call at

any
given time to fill in for the ones that call in sick, or misconnect, or

fall
ill during a trip. This helps to keep everything running more smoothly.
During holiday months, bad weather months, etc... they can run short on
reserve crewmembers, which means that they start reassigning regular
crewmembers that are "in the air" to cover the shorted flights. This

means
that although you may have a set schedule and not be a "reserve" flight
attendant, your trip may actually be extended for 1 or 2 more days, to

which
you have no choice but do. That makes it very difficult to plan

anything
at
home with your friends or family on the days off that you are SUPPOSED

to
have. But that's another story...

Thirdly, the section that started with "Lemme point out why nobody

should
give a ****" was interesting and colorful. Personally, I don't think

that
anyone would give a **** about our problems, except for us, American,

and
the FAA. To be honest, I hate to say it, but like I said I AM being

honest,
if you work at Burger King and they make you work a triple shift, well I
just don't really care as long as I get my order. That is just the human
response. I understand that when you buy a ticket on any airline that

you
just want to get from point a to point b in one piece and relatively on
time, with all of your baggage. I am suprised however that you went to

such
great lengths to ridicule and condescend to the flight attendant that
originally posted his/her message.

I, as an educated adult would never walk into my dentist's office and

expect
to understand what his work schedule and working conditions were. I

would
never walk into McDonald's and assume that I knew what each one of the
employee's work duties entailed or what their work rules were like. Why
would you presume to know what a flight attendant's life is like?

I will try to cover the points that you made in your response.

part 1, #1

Only the MOST senior flight attendants (15-50 years) YES 50 YEARS, would
make that amount working 20 hours a week. Remember that we only accrue

time
in the air so it takes us several days a week to accrue 20 hours. All

of
the hours that we spend before, in-between, anf after flights

accomplishing
our duties, doing paperwork, commuting, etc, are all on our own time.

For
most of us it would take 4 days to accrue 20 hours, so, we are actually

at
work for 72 to 80 hours to accrue that amount of time. When we are at

work,
we are not just free to run amuck whereever we happen to be, we are

under
the constand rules, guidelines, and scrutiny of the comapany. We don't

run
around and drink and vacation and carouse like the old stereotypes let

on.
For junior flight attendants, they would have to work AT LEAST 5 to 6

days
a
week to make $40K. And that means be away from their homes, families,

and
children to make that much money.

Your next question might be "Well, if it sucks that bad, why don't you

just
quit?" I can answer that by saying that our careers are more of a
"lifestyle" than a "job". Although, it has become much more of a job
lately...

part 1, #2

I think that was answered in the above response.

part 1, #3

Yes, the FAA does require a minumum amount of crew rest and you should

be
very thankful that they do. In most aircraft accidents, it was a series

of
events that occurred that made it happen. It is very important that the
pilots get as much sleep as they need so as to not overlook ONE setting,

or
mistake ONE reading that can cause the cycle of events to begin. As far

as
the flight attendants go, the job of serving peanuts and coke are the
secondary responsibilites that we accomplish during every flight. We

need
to be alert as well. Our duties begin way before you show up for your
flight and continue way after you have deplaned. Although we seem to be

not
paying attention to anything in particular, we size every passenger up
during boarding, we are aware of every sound and every smell on a

particular
aircraft, and although you make not think we are paying attention, we

are
aware of EVERYTHING and are in communication with the pilots during

every
flight. You might say that nothing ever goes on on any flights you've

ever
been on, but I assure you that if you knew of all of the mechanical,
medical, and security emergencies that occur on a daily basis, you might
reconsider flying as your choice of transportation. 99% of everything
unusual that goes on during a flight is never communicated with the
passengers. As far as the rest time goes, it is 8 hrs "block to block".
That means that the 8 hours start when your flight gets to the gate

until
when you have to be on the plane for the next flight. This does not

take
into consideration passengers de-planing, cleaning the aircraft,

completing
post flight paperwork, walking to your hotel shuttle pick-up point,

waiting
for your hotel van (up to 45 minutes is allowed), travel time to your

hotel,
checking into your hotel, unpacking, showering, going immediately to

sleep,
getting up and getting ready, possibly getting something to eat, taking

the
hotel van back to the airport, going through the security check point,
getting to you gate 1 hour before departure time to complete you

briefing
with the agents, captain, air marshalls, etc, and boarding 30 minutes

before
departure. That really doesn't leave much time for sleep. You are lucky

to
get 4 hours, 5 max, of sleep. After being on duty for 14 or 15 hours

and
having to complete 14 or 15 hours of duty for 2 or 3 days in a row with

this
amount of sleep IS difficult.

part 1, #4

Of course we sit down during flights when we have an opportunity. Why
wouldn't we? Should we just pace up and down the aisles non-stop for 2

or
3
hours? What would be the point of that? We are always available should
someone need something or should there be a problem. Where would we go

to
hide out? The vast majority of passengers want to be left alone anyway.

I
understand that it doesn't look like we are doing much of anything. Why
would it look any other way to a passenger?

part 2, #1

There are actually very rarely any pretzels left over. If there are any
left we usually walk through the cabin and offer the to the passengers

who
may want another bag. Considering that there is only about 5 pretzels

in
a
bag, most people gladly take a second one. If you have ever seen extra

bags
of pretzels in our carts or in our galleys it is because they are

scheduled
for the next flight. We are quite often "double-catered" and we are not
allowed, for obvious reasons, to break into the stuff that is scheduled

for
the next flight. As far as "that enormous bag" goes, it actually holds

50
bags of pretzels. If we have 115 passengers, they usually give us 3

bags.
Sometimes they actually give us 2 bags and 15 individual bags of

pretzels!

part 2, #2

There might be a good 20 minutes in between flights for you as a

passenger
but there are many times where we have 35 or 40 minutes to connect to

our
next flight but you are not considering the fact that that includes us
cleaning the aircraft from our last flight, gathering OUR belongings,

and
traipsing through huge terminals to get to our next gate to prepare our

new
aircraft for boarding. This includes emergency equipment checks,

security
checks, the briefings, catering checks, etc... We generally board the
passengers 30 to 40 minutes before departure. Where is the time to get
something to eat, even at McDonalds? By the way, if we putz around, or

go
get something to eat and we cause boarding to be delayed and our

departure
to be delayed, we must answer for it with paperwork and supervisor
questioning. You might think, well take food with you, or get something

to
eat in the morning and drag it along. Well, the problem with this is

that
I'm a grown man (6',1", 185 lbs.). What exactly could I bring that

would
be
non-perishable, that would make a meal for me, that I could drag around,
along with my other stuff, for 4 or 5 days? Also, our show times at the
airport are VERY early and nothing is open to get something to eat at.

So
no, we are not "full of ****" as you so colorfully put it.

You said in parts of your response that you wouldn't mind fewer flight
attendants onboard your flight. I do know that you have never had an
in-flight emergency. You said you could seat yourself, that you eat and
drink before you get on, which I applaud, and that there's nothing a

flight
attendant can do during an in-flight medical or security emergency, that
would be of any use to anyone. I personally have delivered a baby, had

more
than one person stop breathing, had a passenger try to get into the

cockpit
in-flight, had a passenger have a heart attack, have had engine failure,
have had a full hydraulic failure (like United's Sioux City crash) and

many
more countless episodes, and I haven't lost a passenger yet. I assure

you
that if you ever did have an emergency of any kind on any of your

flights
(God forbid!) that you would want as many of us on there as possible.


I guess what I'm trying to say to you is that you don't need to consider

our
welfare when you are flying on our airline, or any airline for that

matter.
That's not your job. It is my job, however, to consider YOUR welfare,

at
least while you are with me. Personally, your work life is none of my
concern. However, that doesn't mean that ANY of us should be

mean-spirited
or presumptuous towards anyone else. Not everyone is in a position to

quit
their job when they want to, no matter how much you hate it. I'm sure

you
know what that is like. We have ALL been in that position. I truly

enjoy
my career, although I am not happy with the current situation. I will

do
what I can to change it and if I can't then I will have the grace to

leave
it when I am able. I realize that everyone working for ANY company in

ANY
industry is going through changes right now. Our economy is readjusting

and
so are we.

The main thing to remember is that we are ALL in this together. Being
presumptuous shows a lack of education and moreso a lack of character.

I
have a feeling that you are very young and haven't had the chance to

really
think through your reactions to what other people are trying to express.

We
ALL have it hard and we ALL need to remember that!!! If we could just

be
a
little nicer and a little more understanding of each others

predicaments,
things would be so much calmer. I wish you and everyone the very best.
Remember, we are ALL fighting our own private battles!

Take it easy people!







  #3  
Old October 16th, 2003, 03:51 PM
Olivers
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!

None muttered....

It's all well and good, and as you say, what is happening in your
working environment is not something that I am concerned with. What I
am concerned with is the fact that your airline has taken just over
$8,000.00 from me for 6 round trip tickets for holiday travel, and


(vast snippage)

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!(Sound of cockpit alarm....)

Union Troll Alert!

TMO
  #4  
Old October 16th, 2003, 04:56 PM
mrtravel
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!

None wrote:
It's all well and good, and as you say, what is happening in your working
environment is not something that I am concerned with. What I am concerned
with is the fact that your airline has taken just over $8,000.00 from me for
6 round trip tickets for holiday travel, and that there is a distinct
possibility that our flights may get cancelled.

8 grand is a lot of money
to me, it's nearly a years worth of mortgage payments on my home, and I
forked it over to your airline in one shot for a ride. When I call your
airline with concerns about news items regarding possible sick outs and
cancellations,


Sure, that is just what is good for the airline to refund the money of
everyone who might be subject to a flight cancellation. When you book a
ticket, you agree to certain conditions. I wasn't in on your phone
conversation, so I don't know what took place. If the airline makes
changes to your reservation that are unacceptable to you, you can get a
refund. However, they don't normally give you a refund for something
that might happen in the future. If you want this protection, buy a
refundable ticket.

  #5  
Old October 16th, 2003, 06:01 PM
Miguel Cruz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!

Charles Newman e wrote:
Where are you getting mortgage payemnts that cheap?
I thought that the minumum mortgate payment on any
house in the USA would be at last $1000 per month,
or about $12000 a year.


He may not have just purchased the house. Imagine a $100,000 house purchased
20 years ago.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
  #6  
Old October 16th, 2003, 06:39 PM
mrtravel
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!

Miguel Cruz wrote:

Charles Newman e wrote:

Where are you getting mortgage payemnts that cheap?
I thought that the minumum mortgate payment on any
house in the USA would be at last $1000 per month,
or about $12000 a year.



He may not have just purchased the house. Imagine a $100,000 house purchased
20 years ago.


Imagine one purchased last year when 5 1/2 percent was possible.
A 150,000 loan for a 5.5 percent 30 year mortgage would cost $851.68 per
month. There are many places in the US where you can by a home for
$150K. Consider 1/4 down and the house price would be 200K.

  #7  
Old October 16th, 2003, 08:09 PM
None
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default ALERT!! American Airlines Employees Plan Holiday Sick Out!


"mrtravel" wrote in message
. com...
Miguel Cruz wrote:

Charles Newman e wrote:

Where are you getting mortgage payemnts that cheap?
I thought that the minumum mortgate payment on any
house in the USA would be at last $1000 per month,
or about $12000 a year.



He may not have just purchased the house. Imagine a $100,000 house

purchased
20 years ago.


Imagine one purchased last year when 5 1/2 percent was possible.
A 150,000 loan for a 5.5 percent 30 year mortgage would cost $851.68 per
month. There are many places in the US where you can by a home for
$150K. Consider 1/4 down and the house price would be 200K.


The rates were really crazy this year, if anyone was on their toes, they
were able to scoop up some absolutely rediculously low new or refinance
rates. Too bad the feds can't go any lower! ;-)


 




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